Bobby Seale (Born Robert George Seale), was an American black rights activist, that formed the Black Panther Party in 1966. During the Vietnam war, he commited acts of civil disobedience by acting against the govenrment by protesting the Vietnam War. He did this primarily because he would "not support any war where blacks are put in the line of service to fight for a country that does not support them". Bobby Seale was born on October 22, 1936, in Dallas, Texas to George and Thelma Seale. Bobby grew up in Texas, but eventually relocated to Oakland, California, during WWII. Bobby eventually dropped out of high school and joined the air force, but was dishonorbly discharged after only three years serving for failing to obey orders. At the age of 25, Seale began attending Oakland City College, and joined the AAA (Afro-American-Assosiation), where he met future co-founder of the Black Panther Party, Huey Newton. His biggest influence to start the Black Panther Partywas a man by the name of Malcom Little, also known as Malcom X. Malcom X was a black civil rights activist who spoke out against whites for commiting crimes against blacks. Seale was outraged at his murder in 1965. Upon this, he and Newton formed the Black Panther Party.This party was designed to speak out against whites that treated blacks poorly. His act of civil disobedience is speaking out against the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War, because of the fact that blacks were fighting for a country Seale believed mistreated them. His biggest act of disobedience was leading a demonstration in New Haven, CT, on May 1, 1970, that led to the Student Strike Of 1970. This was a large strike of high school and college students accross the nation due to the Kent State Shootings and Jackson State Killings that had resulted in large protest to president Richard Nixon's desision to have the United States invade cambodia. After this, Bobby Seale was imprisoned until 1972, where he decided to become non-violent after bieng released from prison. Some major accomplishments for Mr. Seale after his Black Panther days, are running for the mayor of Oakland in 1973, and apearing on television for various documentaries, as well as bieng the spokesperson for Ben And Jerry's Ice Cream. Seale is now 74 years old and continues to speak at colleges around the country.
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